


Winter Bloom

by owl127



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: (a little bit), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, F/F, Happy Ending, Lots of plot, Pups, alpha!ellie, hug the gays, mild burn, my take on omegaverse is very chill, omega!dina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:40:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28166376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owl127/pseuds/owl127
Summary: Ellie threw away everything that Dina offered her: stability, love. A family. Dina gave herself in a sacred mating bond because she believed in them.Giving up on their relationship had been Ellie’s choice.Now, it was Dina’s.--Coming back to Jackson, Ellie realized she left behind more than a disappointed, furious mate.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 229





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t have a beta for this work, but if you feel in your heart that you want to help me out talking about the plot and battling commas, please let me know.

The sun had started to set by the time Ellie made it to Jackson’s west gate. On her way from the farm, she encountered a couple of clickers and a small cluster of runners, making sure to clear the path. As the tree line approached, she wondered if Jackson was running low on people to do frequent patrols. 

Or if the winter hordes had started earlier this year.

Sunlight reflected on the couple of scopes that aimed at her. She raised her hands, lowering one shoulder to leave her backpack on the ground. She grunted at the sting on her side, her right hand not making it as high as her left.

“Holy shit! It’s Ellie!”

She heard someone’s voice from the gate. The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t remember who it was until one of the rifles lowered and Katherine’s face peered from above the wooden railing. Ellie tried to smile, but it barely reached her eyes. 

“Open the gate, it’s Ellie!” Katherine, a tall beta woman, yelled for the two guards inside the gate. 

The other woman who was with Katherine on the watch didn’t lower her rifle all the way, a frown deepening between her brown eyes. “And who’s that supposed to be?”

“She’s one of us,” Katherise said while speeding down the metal stairs, her footsteps loud.

Outside, Ellie nodded at the woman who remained on the watchtower and took a deep breath when the gate slowly cracked open. 

Katherine was the first to welcome the alpha as Ellie walked through the space big enough for her to squeeze thorough. 

“You son of a bitch!” The tall girl enveloped Ellie in a hug, then pushed her at arm's length. “You look like shit.”

“Missed you too,” Ellie mumbled, rolling her right shoulder. Around them, two other guards nodded at Ellie; Steve and another man Ellie didn’t recognize. The girl from the watchtower peered from her place at the top of the gate, and Ellie realized Jackson had more new faces than she expected. She looked around, biting her lip, but didn’t see anyone else but the gate guards.

Ellie wanted to ask. She wanted to know where Dina was, if she was okay, if she was even alive. But she held her tongue. Steve shook her hand briefly, always a standoffish guy, but a good shooter. The new guy flashed her a small smile from between his dark beard, eyes kind. 

Ellie hadn’t interacted with others for so long she forgot she should smile too. 

“C’mon, Maria will flip when she sees you,” Katherine continued, turning her head so Ellie would follow. “And I suppose you need to stop by the clinic.” She eyed the small alpha up and down, golden eyebrow raised. “Jonas, cover me up on the watch? I’ll take Ellie to the clinic.”

The new guy, Jonas, nodded and headed for the stairs to join the other guard at the lookout.

Ellie flexed her left hand, opening and closing it and still not used to her amputated fingers. 

They walked the streets of Jackson that Fall early evening, the lights from the Tipsy Bison, BBQ joint and mess hall lightening up. A few curious heads turned their way, but both Ellie and Katherine ignored the stares, headed to the direction of the town clinic. 

“We have some new people working at the clinic. New assistants, new doc,” Katherine said conversationally, adjusting her rifle on her shoulder.

“What happened to Cecilia?” Ellie frowned, thinking of the Jackson doctor; mid-fifties, effective and showing kindness in a way that only people who were born before the outbreak could. 

Kind people did not make it far in their world of survival. 

“Oh, Dr. Cecilia’s still around. But we got this new doc that lived on a farm somewhere in Idaho. She said she used to be a horse doc. Came in a few months ago.”

“Horse doc?” 

“ _Veterinarian_ , she calls herself.” Katherine’s mouth and browns contorted as she said the word, cleary forerign to her. “She said she’s a doc for animals, but we’re short on docs, so she’s helping out. She stitches people up just as good. Everyone in the clinic is doing a good job.”

Katherine shrugged, kicking some of the dry leaves on their path. Ellie noted the change in attitude in the tall beta, a light pink flush painting her cheeks. 

The clinic looked the same, a battered old building on the outside with bright lights inside. Max, someone Ellie vaguely recognized, sat in the waiting room with his forearm wrapped in bandages. His eyes widened when they stepped in. 

“Ellie?” He opened his mouth in shock. “I thought you were dead.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Ellie mumbled, taking a seat on the chair next to him. 

“I mean… we all thought you were dead,” he explained, cradling his injured arm closer. “Good to see you’re not.”

Ellie thinned her lips, nodding. The awkward moment was broken when a woman appeared at the door. She wore an old, stained lab coat, but it was dry, the blood smears from long ago. Two auburn braids fell on both of her broad shoulders. Ellie recognized the way healers presented themselves, calm and reassuring, honey eyes attentive. 

“Hey, Laura.” Katherine smiled at the doctor. “I brought you a new patient.”

“I can see that.” She walked to Ellie’s chair and offered her hand. Ellie took it gingerly, somewhat overwhelmed with human contact after months alone in the woods. 

“Let me change Max’s bandages, and I’ll be ready for you.” Her handshake was firm and warm, and Ellie found herself blushing under her gaze. Max stood up and followed Laura inside the wooden double door that led to the examination rooms.

Always being on patrol, Ellie was very familiar with Jackson’s clinic. 

“Well, I’ll go find Maria. She’ll want to see you.” With that, Katherine left, her long braid tossed behind her back.

Ellie shuddered at the memory of another long, blond braid, but shook the thought away with a shuddering breath. Her hands trembled on her knees, a thin layer of sweat springing on her forehead. The sight of her hands, her fingers, the healing scars, the new burn to cover the bite mark; it all overwhelmed her, and the bright light in the waiting room was too much. Her heart accelerated. She could feel it in every ragged breath, trying to break through her chest, clawing at her ribs, stretching her skin to the point it hurt. Her thoughts went back to Abby on that post, bleeding, suffering, and dying and—

“Hey.” 

She opened her eyes to see kind honey, a worried crinkle between the doctor’s eyes. A glint of gold hung from her neck, a small cross escaping between her lapels. 

“You okay?” she asked while straightening up from the bended position she was to meet Ellie’s eyes. 

Ellie looked around, a bit startled, and Max was nowhere to be found. She wondered how long she had been stuck with what could have been the beginning of a panic attack. But the doctor’s voice was calm, soothing. The doctor was young, no later than thirty, but in their world it barely mattered anymore; maturity was learned early, and the hardness of their reality ate away anyone’s innocence long before puberty. 

Ellie nodded, rolling her right shoulder. 

The doctor made it to the door, holding it open so Ellie could step into the alley between makeshift examination rooms. She opened a battered curtain and Ellie followed, a couple of chairs, a supply cart and a cot revealed behind the green curtains. 

“You can leave your backpack and weapons on that chair.” She closed the curtains behind them and pointed to the empty chair at the corner with her chin, then washed her hands in a sink at the side of the hammock. Ellie left her backpack, jacket and guns by the chair, sitting on the hammock slowly.

“I’m Laura, by the way.” Laura turned to face her, a tired smile painting her lips. 

“Ellie.” Ellie looked down at herself, jaw tense, opening and closing her left hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Ellie.” She sat on a rolling chair and pulled it closer to Ellie with her long legs. “Okay. What hurts?” 

Ellie cocked her head at the suddenly eager doctor. She looked up at Ellie from her chair with bright eyes, hands joined together as if waiting for something to do with them.

“What really bothers me is my side.” Ellie rested a hand on her lower right ribs, the spot sensitive. 

“Okay. Can you take your shirt off?” 

Ellie complied, shrugging off her torn t-shirt, uncaring of the doctor’s presence. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and every scar, mark, cut and bruise were open for the doctor’s view. It was clear that Ellie had not been eating well, her ribs on full display when she took a deep breath. 

Laura didn’t flinch, focusing on the spot she showed.

“What happened here?”

“Puncture. Wood.” Ellie didn’t offer more, and the doctor nodded. 

“Can you lay down, please?” 

She complied, hissing when Laura’s hands went back to the sore spot. 

“Have you had any fever since this happened?”

“A bit on my way back. It’s on and off, but I haven’t had it in a while. I tried to keep it dry but…”

Laura nodded, her hands continuing to touch her with varying pressure, from light to insistent. “Pain, one to ten?” 

And then she pushed a bit harder, and Ellie growled, gritting her teeth. “Seven,” she replied, jaw locked. 

“I’d like to get an x-ray, but the machine they had here is not working.” Laura continued to touch her side, following the path under Ellie’s arms and down along her navel. “But I’m willing to bet you got some stress fracture here. Plus, you’re still battling an infection, so we’ll get you on antibiotics ASAP. How long have you been out there?”

“A while.” She reached for her shirt, downing it in slow motions. 

“That burn.” Laura pointed to the healing scar that covered Ellie’s most recent bite mark. “Do you want some cream for that?”

“No, thank you.” Sitting on the cot, Ellie stretched her neck. Now that the adrenaline of finding Jackson was wearing off, all she wanted was a dry, warm bed to sleep for a few hours. Or days. 

A knock sounded on the waiting room door, and after Laura called back to whoever it was to come in, Maria opened the curtains around them. 

She looked a bit older than Ellie remembered, grey gaining the battle against her golden hair. The older omega smiled at Ellie, tired and honest. 

“I’ll be damned. Welcomed back, Ellie.” 

“Thanks,” Ellie replied quietly, a half smile tugging her lips. “Tommy?”

“At home. His leg acts up when it gets colder,” Maria said dismissively, one hand gesturing at the door. Ellie wondered if they were back together. “We’re taking some of your weapons to the storage.” She nodded to Ellie’s backpack. “Keep the pistol.” 

From behind the waiting room door, Katherine peeked and nodded after Maria asked her to take the rifle and shotgun to the town’s inventory. 

“She found out,” Katherine whispered to Maria, not low enough that Ellie wouldn’t catch it. Maria pursed her lips and acknowledged Katherine’s words with a dip of her head. Ellie looked between them and a shiver went down her spine. 

“Your old studio is the same. A new family stayed in Joel’s house for a bit last year, but they’re gone. I didn’t let them use the garage, though. I had a feeling you’d come back eventually.” Maria crossed her arms and smiled at Ellie. They both looked at the door where Katherine blushed while Laura offered to help her with the weapons.

“I got this,” the beta replied, balancing Ellie’s arsenal in her arms. As she used her leg to push her way back to the waiting room, she almost lost her footing when someone else burst the door open, pushing Katherine on her way in.

“Gosh! Careful!” Katherine protested, doing a little balance dance to make sure Ellie’s rifle and shotgun wouldn’t hit the floor. 

“Where’s she, where’s—”

Ellie snapped her head up, locking eyes with the single reason why she had the courage to return.

Dina entered the exam room, ignoring Maria and a startled Laura to crush Ellie in a hug. All Ellie’s air left her lungs, her ribs screamed and for a moment she didn’t respond to the hug, frozen in partial shock to finally be in the arms of the woman she loved.

Dina. Her mate.

When she gathered her bearings to wrap her arms around the omega, to nestle her nose on Dina’s neck the way she dreamed every single night on her journey to Jackson, Dina stepped away, a frown crossing her features.

“Dina—” Before Ellie could say anything else, her face stung with the force of a slap, loud and painful as Dina put a good amount of strength behind it. Baffled, Ellie lifted her hand to her face, the skin tingling under her touch. She saw Dina’s eyes focus on her hand, the frown deepening at the sight of her fingers. 

“That’s enough.” Maria placed a hand on Dina’s shoulder, but she violently shrugged it away.

“Don’t,” Dina said with finality, not giving Ellie a chance to talk. Tears filled her dark eyes, and before Ellie could call her back, the omega left the room with the same intensity she had walked inside.

Ellie stared at the open door, her cheek throbbing. Her breathing picked up, the light from the room bothering her eyes; she felt them fill with tears, and a deep sense of shame washed over her. 

“Here,” Laura broke the silence offering her an ice pack. Dazzled, Ellie took it. 

“Try to get some sleep.” Maria put one hand on Ellie’s knee. “Let me know when she will be cleared for work.” The last comment was directed at Laura, who had both hands in her lab coat pockets. 

“Will do. We’ll see how she responds to the antibiotics.”

“I’m good,” Ellie replied. Laura raised an eyebrow at her, and she relented. “A couple of weeks. Max.”

“Good,” Maria said. “We’ll talk more in the morning. Tommy will want to see you.”

Ellie nodded, hand holding the icepak to her face. Maria left the room, and once more she was alone with Laura.

“So,” the doctor started, eyes on the floor and slowly making their way up to Ellie’s form. “You’re _the_ Ellie.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aggression dripped from Ellie’s voice, eyes slitting close. It wasn’t the doc’s fault that Dina had just slapped her in the fucking face, but she needed to vent her peak of anger somewhere. 

The doctor, an alpha herself by the looks of it, raised both hands to pacify the angry patient. “Whoa, relax. I got here after you left, I don’t know any details. Dina doesn’t talk about it when we work together.” 

Ellie took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. Her exhaustion was picking up again and she felt a little dizzy.

“Work together?” 

“Dina’s been helping around in the clinic for a few months now. She’s great support here.” Laura’s hands were back inside her pockets, amber eyes on the floor. “It’s just…” she continued, licking her lips. “Dina was one of my first patients when I got here, with little Debs. I delivered her, actually. Quite the welcome for a new doc. Especially one used to delivering calves.”

Ellie nodded, not really following what the woman had said. “Was she sick?” Ellie asked, green eyes searching Laura’s face.

“Debbie? No! She’s healthy as an ox. I live close to their place and we all know that pup has some lungs. Going on four months now, right?” 

Ellie stared at her, jaw slacked. Laura stared back, looking from side to side, clearly confused.

“You are Dina’s mate, right?” the doctor questioned, golden eyes unsure. 

“Yes,” Ellie whispered, eyes squinting as she tried to piece her thoughts together. 

“Hey, Maria requested me to follow you back home to… what is going on?” Katherine, who had just opened the waiting room door, stopped short. She could see Ellie and Laura since the curtains around the exam area had not been closed after Maria left. 

Laura now looked desperate, eyes wide, looking from Ellie to Katherine. 

“She doesn’t know?” she whispered, loud enough for Katherine and Ellie to hear. 

“Oh boy.” Katherine sighed heavily. “I don’t think she knew when she left,” Katherine said, shrugging at Laura.

“Knew what?” Ellie’s voice was small, uncertain, and she didn’t direct the question to any of them. 

“Okay, so… don’t freak out,” Katherine started, head to the side, braid falling over her shoulder. Her blue eyes showed pity, and Ellie swallowed hard. 

“Katherine…” Ellie pleaded, her breathing picking up. 

“You see...”

“Katherine!” Ellie snapped, hands fisting on her knees, bunching up her jeans. 

“Okay, okay!” the beta surrendered, her hands pulling at her own jacket. “When Dina came back to Jackson she was pregnant,” Katherine said in one exhale, the words mumbling together and almost too fast for Ellie to hear. 

Almost.

“She had a baby girl, Debbie, she’s four months now, has cute eyes and Dina’s nose; you know what, it could be your nose now that I’m seeing you. Brown hair, super cute and—”

“Katherine,” Laura warned, but the beta didn’t stop talking, too focused on the news instead of Ellie’s reaction. 

Ellie stopped listening as her ears ringed, high pitched and loud. The light in the room flashed, and Ellie gasped, air suddenly too thin to inhale. She started to hyperventilate, hands shaking; why was it so bright, her vision so blurred, and who was pushing her?

“Ellie? Ellie, stay with me. Breathe.” Laura rushed to her side, hand firm on her shoulder, but it was too late.

Laura and Katherine watched as Ellie collapsed on the cot, rolling her eyes and fainting with a heavy thud on the hard hammock. 

Laura made sure she was comfortable, loosening her belt and taking off her shoes.

Silent and with wide blue eyes, Katherine fidgeted with her hands. 

“Maybe I should have done it more delicately.”

“You think?” Laura mocked, nodding in the direction of the passed out alpha. 

“Well, at least now we know she didn’t know,” Katherine quipped, lips together in an amused straight line. 

“You just delivered some life-altering news to a dehydrated, exhausted patient.” Laura turned Ellie’s arm, checking for her pulse.

“You started it!” Katherine defended, crossing her arms. 

“How was I supposed to know she didn’t know she had a kid!” The doctor pointed to herself with one hand. “I’m new here!”

“Katherine, why… oh.” Maria, who had come back to the clinic, opened the door to find Ellie passed out, Laura taking her vitals and a wide-eyed Katherine. “What happened? Is she okay?” 

“Ask Katherine,” Laura mumbled, and Katherine wided her eyes at her. 

“Traitor!” she muttered back, frowning. 

“Katherine?” Maria’s tone was serious, authoritative. 

“She found out about Debbie and passed out,” the beta woman supplied.

Maria eyebrows rose in amusement, and she looked at the blacked out alpha again. “That’s rich.”

“Should we tell Dina?” asked Laura while she touched Ellie’s forehead.

“No,” Maria stated. “You”—she pointed at Katherine—“stay here until she wakes up and then take her home. And you”—her finger moved to Laura’s direction—“I suppose you’re free for the night. Let’s keep this all between us.” Her finger gestured around her and with a long sigh, Maria left the room once more. 

“Can I throw water at her face?”

“Katherine…”

“Why, it’s getting late and I’m hungry.”

“Were you guys good friends?” Laura sat on the rolling chair again, pulling it to the cart next to the cot to rub hand sanitizer in her hands. 

“Good enough, I guess. Ellie was always very private.” 

They were silent as Laura rolled to the cart to get the supplies back in place for the night.

“So that’s a ‘no’ for the water?”

“Let her rest.”

“Great,” Katherine mumbled and pulled the other chair close to Ellie’s cot. “Welcome home, Ellie.” 

* * *

Ellie was in a daze on her walk back home, practically being herded by Katherine, who was thankfully quiet. The beta helped Ellie get into the garage-converted-studio, asked if she needed anything else and left her with a sandwich from the cafeteria. 

Ellie didn’t eat it. She left the lights on and collapsed on her dusted bed, which was better than anywhere else she had slept for months.

Dina had been pregnant. In her pursuit of revenge, Ellie left an angry, pregnant mate behind. No wonder Dina slapped her in the face.

Pregnant. Not anymore; she had a kid now. _They_ had a kid. 

God, Ellie was a mess. 

She didn’t quite fall asleep; exhaustion simply won the battle, and still in her dirty clothes, Ellie let oblivion take hold.

* * *

Light streaming from the window woke Ellie up. Her mouth was dry, and the beginning of a headache was making itself known between her eyes. 

She went through the motions of self care: water, shower, the sandwich from last night.

Then the memories from last night came back and she touched her cheek, feeling it sore from Dina’s slap.

Ellie had a daughter. 

Debbie.

Deborah, like Dina’s mother. Ellie smiled at the name. 

How did she look? The color of her eyes, the shape of her nose. Laura said she was four months old; had she been premature? How far along was Dina when Ellie left?

She tried to think of Dina before leaving the farm, but her memories from that time were unfocused, blurred.

She thought of Dina, dancing in their living room. Did she dance with their pup now? 

As Ellie finished her sandwich, she realized she knew nothing about pups; she didn’t know how to take care of them, to bathe them or feed them… Neither did Dina, as far as she remembered. It was not that they had never discussed having children, but it was too soon. They were cautious, avoiding penetration when Dina was in her most fertile days, and Ellie had always been so careful. 

But sometimes, things happened. And now, she was ready to take responsibility.

Her cheek still stung, though, and she wondered if Dina wanted Ellie back in her life at all.

Eventually Dina would come around and they would be able to talk. She knew Dina, and the omega would not keep her own daughter away from her. Would she? No, not the Dina she knew. For now, Ellie needed to suck it up, be patient and wait for Dina to approach her. 

She could do that.

Ellie could watch her mate and pup from afar, always maintaining a respectable distance and processing the fact that she had hurt Dina so badly she would rather live alone than with Ellie.

She could probably do that.

Streets showed the first signs of a new day as Ellie stepped out of her studio. Guards from the night patrol were coming home, and Paul, an old friend, widened his eyes from the other side of the street and waved at Ellie, who waved back. Smell of fresh bread filled the area around the bakery, and Ellie’s mouth watered at the forgotten scent. There was already movement inside the butcher shop and the mess hall, but the stores and school were closed. 

She avoided staring at the few people in the downtown area on her way to Tommy and Maria’s house, but she looked up at someone calling her name. 

Dark eyes stared at her, first surprised but hardening as Ellie waved. 

“Danielle. Hi,” Ellie faltered, rubbing the back of her neck. 

Jesse’s younger sister had grown in the past year. The timid teen was a grown alpha now, eyes challenging as she took Ellie in. 

“I didn’t know you were back,” the younger alpha said, shaking Ellie’s hand in a strong grip. “Are you staying this time?”

“Yes, of course.”

Dannielle had always been close to Dina, a friendship developed from the years Dina dated Jesse. Danny, as Dina called her, had many reasons to not be Ellie’s biggest fan.

Her brother died following Ellie.

Ellie mated with his ex-girlfriend.

And then Ellie proceeded to abandon said mate—after getting her pregnant—pursuing the same path of revenge that got her brother killed.

Yeah, not Ellie’s fan. 

“If you say so,” Danny commented, eyes focusing on Ellie for another moment before she turned. “See you around.” She didn’t wait for Ellie to reply and kept walking in the direction of the mess hall.

Ellie took a deep breath. She understood the reasons why some people, especially Dina’s friends, did not approve of Ellie’s actions. Gosh, even Dina didn’t understand why Ellie had to go.

Somedays, Ellie forgot it too.

But then, under the stars on her long journey back to Jackson, Ellie realized that the Joel in her mind now smiled. She could see his eyes, clinkled in laughter as he played his guitar. She remembered his jokes. The epiphany she had in the humiliating, cathartic battle with Abby was a painful but necessary process of her healing.

Ellie had no idea how she would explain that to Dina, though.

Tommy was on his porch, drinking from his mug and staring as the street slowly woke up. He smiled when Ellie approached, and she fidgeted with her backpack while she jumped the front steps to meet him.

“I’ll be damned,” he laughed, standing up with difficulty to crush Ellie in a hug. Ellie hugged him back, sighing on his shoulder. “You really made it.”

“I did.” Ellie held his mug—making a face at the scent of coffee—and followed a limping Tommy inside the house.

“Maria already left for the day. When she said you’d stop by, I told her I’d only believe it when I see ya.” His crooked smile pushed up his bad eye, milky and slinted, a constant reminder of Seattle.

Seeing it didn’t hurt as much as it used to.

“Here I am.” Ellie dropped her bag at the side of the living room couch and waited until Tommy made his slow way to the armchair in front of her. 

Grimacing, he accepted the mug she offered back. “Knee gets worse when the weather turns,” he explained, nodding to his injured knee. 

The memory of the boy that attacked them with Abby, battered and unconscious on that boat, flashed in Ellie’s mind. She hoped he made it. 

“Good to see you and Maria are back together,” she said, joining her hands on her lap. Ellie knew what Tommy wanted to ask; she knew what he would want to know, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to tell him. To justify her actions. 

“Sometimes we have to bite the bullet.” He waved one hand, smirking slightly. “Things we do for our omegas.”

Ellie looked down, her fingers intertwining. Tommy’s smirk disappeared, and he stared down at his mug. “So you know about Debbie.”

“Yeah.” She didn’t meet his eyes, cheeks blushing unther the morning sun. “I haven’t met her.”

“Have you talked to Dina?”

Ellie pointed to her cheek, the uneven swelling marking her features. “She did this yesterday.”

Tommy smirked again, yellowing teeth showing in amusement. “Always a feisty one, that girl. She’ll come around,” he reassured, stretching his good leg. 

“Hope so.” Ellie swallowed, the sight of pure anger and fury in Dina’s eyes from the day before a reason not to believe that.

Tommy sipped his coffee, letting silence set in. Ellie looked at the window outside and watched as more people poured from the houses under the rising sun. 

Her fingers itched to sketch the scene. 

“Did you find her?” That was the question he wanted to ask, and as much as Ellie knew it, she was not prepared.

Eyes on her lap, she replied, “Yes. Santa Barbara.”

Tommy took another sip from his coffee. “Is it over?” he asked after swallowing. 

Ellie thought of Abby’s face: the scars, the marks, the swelling. Missing teeth, emaciated body, long braid long gone. She was a shell of the woman who spared them in Seattle.

“She’s paid.” Ellie found herself saying.

“She’s dead?” Tommy probed. She finally met his eyes; the green in hers hard and unforgiving. 

“She’s paid,” she repeated. 

Huffing, Tommy broke their stare. “If she’s alive, she didn’t pay.” 

“If you had seen her”—She closed her eyes, swallowing against the bile rising to the back of her throat—“She’s paid plenty, Tommy. She would’ve let me kill her if she wasn’t taking care of this boy.”

Silence fell between them again for a tense moment.

“How’s she looking like?” Tommy didn’t look up from his mug, frowning at the cooling coffee. 

“Half-dead. A hunter group caught her. Beated her up pretty good. They put her up a… a post, almost like a cross. That’s how I found her.” Ellie’s jaw flexed, and the tip of her boots scratched each other. 

Tommy smiled a small smile, downing his coffee. “Good.”

Ellie released a long breath, stretching her neck from side to side. She reached down and pulled her bag on the couch. 

“The fingers. Infected?” Tommy inquired with his chin jutted in the direction of her mutilated hand. 

Ellie tried to fight the half smile that tugged her lips. “Abby.” 

Tommy snorted. “That doesn’t sound half-dead to me.”

She didn’t want to explain that Abby had only fought her because Ellie threatened a dying boy. Her fingers were a small price to pay compared to the shame.

“Was that her parting gift?”

“Fuck off,” Ellie mumbled under her breath, but Tommy’s tone was lighter. Whatever he had to deal with in the past year had eroded the part of his heart that demanded revenge. Maria did him good.

“I got you something that I traded with this group in Utah.” Ellie pulled the quarter pound bag of coffee beans from her backpack. “Not much, but I know how you and Joel were crazy for this shit.” 

Tommy looked up at the mention of Joel. It was probably the first time he had heard her say it in such a light tone. 

The bag rattled on his lap when she threw it at him. He put his mug down at the side table next to his chair and smelled the battered bag. “This is good stuff. What did you trade this for?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” she joked, remembering her pistol fondly. 

Tommy gulped and licked his lips. “Joel would trade half his arsenal for a bag of coffee.”

“The crazy old man once traded combat boots on a single pack of instant coffee. Smelled like shit.”

And then, what neither of them expected happened.

They laughed. 

They laughed at the memory of Joel, of his jokes and antics. They shared a little piece of him, and Ellie laughed until she cried, and Tommy slapped himself on the knee at the memory of Joel’s attempts at flirting when they got to Jackson. 

In that morning, Joel was alive again. His memory was alive, and it wasn't a bloody, disfigured mass beaten to a pulp; it was a broad shouldered, courageous man who they both loved very much.

By lunch time, Ellie felt like a new person. The tension and fear from facing Tommy melted into camaraderie and bonding over their undenying love for Joel. 

Katherine joined her at the mess hall, saying she was tasked with getting Ellie a job. Andrea, the shy omega who was on guard the night before, sat down next to them at the table.

Ellie’s morning happiness, a bubble of surprising joy she found after talking to Tommy and laughing at Katherine’s jokes, bursted in cold apprehension as Dina appeared at the hall’s entrance. 

Ellie froze with a sandwich halfway to her mouth. Andrea followed the alpha’s line of vision and quickly focused back on her plate.

“What are you looking at—oh.” Katherine’s remark died in her throat as she also found Dina making her way to the serving line, but not picking up a tray. They watched as Dina, without ever looking at their table, grabbed a sandwich and disappeared through the same front door, greeting some of the town folks but not sparing a single glance in Ellie’s direction. 

“You okay?” Katherine had her attention back to Ellie, whose hand was closed in a tight fist. 

“Yeah.” Shaking off the daze, Ellie stared at her half-eaten sandwich, suddenly not hungry. She opened and closed her hand, taking a deep breath.

“You guys gonna talk?” Katherine asked between mouthfuls of ham sandwich. 

Andrea shot Katherine a look, and the beta ignored her.

“She’s not even acknowledging me,” Ellie breathed, one hand over her face. 

“I don’t know. She seemed to, yesterday. When she punched you.”

Ellie put her hand down, staring in disbelief at Katherine, mouth agape. 

“I mean,” the beta continued, biting another chunk of her sandwich. “She didn’t completely ignore you! That’s something.”

Ellie closed her mouth, poking the swell on her cheek.

Yeah, that might be something.

* * *

Winter gave its first signs as temperature constantly decreased in the following week. Ellie was no stranger to the cold, and she found a certain comfort in the chill of the season.

That afternoon, as temperature dropped, the workers' breath fogged into vapor as they continued to tend to the horses.

Katherine brought blankets for the horses, and Ellie helped to cover the brave animals, giving a treat or two for her all-time favorites. 

Her heart ached at the thought of Shimmer, but that was the world they lived in. One day you were here, and the other you were blown to pieces at the mercy of rebel groups battling a civil war in a forgotten city.

Or something like it.

“He likes you,” Katherine commented while Japan kept sniffing at Ellie’s hands even after she ran out of treats.

“He’s Dina’s favorite for patrols,” Ellie explained, hand on the animal’s snout, scratching until he neighed quietly. 

“Oh.” Katherine placed a tattered, tan blanket on top of Japan. “It’s been a while then.”

Ellie had been falling into a routine. She was almost done with her ten-day course of antibiotics, and her ribs were bothering her less and less each morning. But she was not yet ready for patrol, even though she wanted any excuse to leave Jackson for a few hours. When not on patrol herself, Katherine or Andrea were good companions on inside jobs, such as the stables that afternoon. 

“She doesn’t go on patrols?” Ellie kept her stare on Japan’s brown fur, shiny from the recent brushing. 

“Not since she got back. Maria understands. I mean, what kind of mom would she be to risk her life like that with an infant at home?” Katherine hissed apologetically as soon as the words left her mouth.

She was quite the chatter that one. Also, zero filter.

“I guess a pretty shitty one.” Ellie patted Japan one last time between his eyes, turning to gather the tools she had used to clean his hooves. 

“Right,” Katherine breathed, adjusting the blanked on the horse. 

“So,” Ellie started, hands twitching on the small set of tools. “How is she?”

“Dina?” Katherine’s voice was hesitant, her shoulder slumping down, eyes sideways. “She kinda asked me not to say much to you. I don’t know man, she makes this mean meatloaf, I really don’t want to risk not having some and—”

“Not Dina,” Ellie reassured Katherine, turning to face her. Ellie remembered Dina’s meatloaf and also knew the threat was real—and definitely not worth it. “Deborah.” The name was foregn in Ellie’s tongue, even if she repeated it to herself at night. Dina must have been getting out of her way to avoid being in the same place as Ellie, because it had been days since Ellie had seen her, or glimpses of her. And the pup? She hasn’t met her yet.

She understood the omega’s need for space. It didn’t make it hurt any less.

“Oh, the goober. She’s great. I’m like, her third favorite babysitter.” Katherine stated proudly, her shoulders squaring.

“And how many babysitters does she have?” Ellie was curious and worried, wondering how many people would take to raise a baby. Probably a lot. Definitely more than one. 

“Oh, right, like four or five. But in my defense, Dina says I talk too much, can you believe it? I’m teaching her daughter to speak, and she complains. Incredible.” 

Ellie smiled at the lack of anger in Katherine’s voice. She was a good one, that beta. “When do you usually babysit?”

“Mostly when Dina’s at the clinic, and I’m not on patrol. It’s nice when she’s not crying a lot. Your pup can be quite loud.”

A foregin sensation of pride filled Ellie, and she raised her chin in pure instinct.

They left Japan’s box, finding a stray cat meowing in the alley between the horses. Katherine threw a piece of jerky to the scrawny tabby, who grabbed it and scurried away. 

“That’s Hunson, by the way. He’s around, sometimes. No one really knows how he gets in and out the walls, but he manages. He’s a lucky charm.”

Ellie watched the grey tabby cat disappear inside a hole in the wooden wall. Ellie never had a pet before, and she had mixed feelings about dogs. But cats? She had seen and interacted with a few in her journey. They were also survivors.

Dina liked cats.

“She has your eyes, you know,” Katherine said when they reached the inventory, placing the spare blankets on the shelf while Ellie did the same with the toolbox. “Debbie. It’s hazel, but the shape”—Katherine looked at Ellie, her hands around her own face for emphasis, and stared right into those green eyes, laughing quietly—“It’s the same.”

Ellie smiled, her face lighting up with it, expanding in a true, raw kind of happiness. 

“Dina will come around. Just give her time.”

Ellie nodded, her smile fading. 

“You kinda were a total jerk by leaving,” Katherine added, always a tad beyond honest that Ellie wasn’t sure if she appreciated it. 

“I had my reasons,” she defended, staring at the ground as they walked back to the stable hallway.

“And Dina has her reasons to need space now. You came back, so she will too.” 

Ellie opened the wooden gate, the setting sun hitting her eyes. She squinted, holding the door open so Katherine could pass. The vapor of their breaths intensified outside. 

“C’mon,” the beta said. “There’s squash soup tonight and it’s pretty good. Laura probably saved us a spot. She’s been talking about these CDs she found on patrol, you might want to check it out.”

Ellie followed, hands in her pockets as she crossed the street. The smile came back, uninvited, and it brightened her entire face with the strength of that new feeling of pride.

She had her eyes.

* * *

The first time she heard the cries, it was a Tuesday night. Ellie had worked at the gates that day, twelve hours stationed at the watch post. Her hands were freezing from the cold, since the alpha had forgotten her gloves. Walking home, she was blowing on her hands—trying and failing to warm them up—when she heard it.

Three, maybe four houses down. A pup, crying its small lungs out for the entire neighborhood to hear. 

_We all know that pup has some lungs._

_Your pup can be quite loud._

That cry, that voice; it could be her daughter. Something she could not explain, a force of nature that tugged at her heart told her that yes, that was her pup. 

Ellie sat on the closest curb, her entire body shivering at the cold touch on her backside. She blew on her hands again and hugged her knees close to stay warm. 

The shrills picked up, demanding everyone’s unwanted attention.

Wind blew against her face, painting her cheeks red.

Ellie didn’t mind.

* * *

Ellie’s journal was filled with Dina. That simple act of drawing her mate was what kept her sane on her way to California, and then during the slow, cold journey back. 

In her journal, Dina smiled at her, her freckles rising on her cheeks in the way they did when she laughed. In her collection of Dina, she found her asleep, curled on their bed at the farmhouse, face relaxed and free of worry. Pages with Dina dancing in their living room, eyes dark and inviting, hand extended to take Ellie’s own. Hair up, down, in a ponytail or wet; all the faces of her mate that kept Ellie believing she had a home to come back to.

But that had been before she realized she had left Dina alone during the greatest challenge of her life.

Any noise from the outside was ignored, music blasting in Ellie’s ears from a battery powered walkman. She sketched Dina’s nose, so familiar; her chin, a touch of freckles. For now, with Dina ignoring her, that was what Ellie had for company.

Distracted by the music and the drawing of her mate coming to life, Ellie only noticed someone was in her studio when the door cracked open. She turned around in her chair.

Eyes wide, she dropped the pencil in her hands, the sharp noise of it hitting the wooden desk the only sound for the second it took Ellie to find her voice.

“Dina,” she whispered, one of her earbuds falling over her collarbone. Ellie stood up, flinching when the other earbud pulled the walkman to the floor. “Dina,” she repeated, adjusting her hoodie and sweatpants with graffiti-stained fingertips.

Dina closed the front door, blocking the cold. A faded orange jacket and a brown scarf covered her frame. 

For the first time in a very, very long time, Ellie took her mate in.

Dina had gained weight, and Ellie’s eyes traced the curves under her jeans with attentive eyes, snapping them back to Dina’s face as a blush covered the alpha’s cheeks. Her dark eyes were tired, but vivid, her shoulders squared as she crossed her arms. 

She was, as always, beautiful.

Not meeting Ellie’s eyes, Dina clenched her jaw. “I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier, I just…”

“It’s okay,” Ellie supplied, fearing any wrong move would scare the omega away.

Dina spared her a quick glance, and Ellie noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “I know it’s okay,” she said firmly, and Ellie gulped. 

Nodding, Ellie took a step in Dina’s direction, but thought better of it, stopping in the middle of her apartment with her hands in her pockets.

“I don’t need to justify myself to you,” Dina restarted, her hands moving in front of her as she spoke. “I don’t have any obligations to you.” Her hand went to the mating mark under her scarf, on the side of her neck. Dina stopped and put her hand down, hard.

Ellie noticed and swallowed, her own hand moving to the mark on her trapezius, which tingled under the touch. 

With a deep breath, Dina finally met her eyes. “But you’re her sire, and it’d be good to have you in her life.”

Ellie wasn’t sure if she should say anything. So she nodded again, eager, because yes, that’s all she wanted. 

“Friday, come for dinner. I’m at house six, two blocks down.” With a last look at Ellie, Dina left, the door creaking shut behind her.

Ellie brought her three fingers in her left hand on her mouth, touching her chapped lips. Dina’s scent lingered in the air, heavy and unmistakably _omega_. Ellie closed her eyes, fisting her hand and groaning at the burning sensation in her mating mark.

That night, Ellie slept for the entire night in what felt like ages. 

* * *

Dina thanked Laura for watching Debbie as soon as she opened the front door, bidding her good night. If the alpha doctor noticed her legs shaking, Dina hoped she would assume it was the cold.

And not seeing Ellie’s face, feeling her scent—eager and open and so like before Dina had barely been able to look at her.

Of course the alpha was drawing, lost in her own thoughts. And when she stood up, Dina saw herself in Ellie’s journal. A physical confirmation that Ellie thought about her, even after almost a year.

Debbie gurgled from her crib, kicking the air in her light blue onesie. She approached the crib, warming her hands together before touching Debbie’s nose and cheeks playfully. The baby tried to suck on her finger, a telltale of hunger, and Dina shrugged off her jacket before picking up the infant. 

Ellie had not forgotten her. She knew that now. 

But Dina never really had a chance of forgetting the alpha when a xerox copy of her looked up with big, amber eyes, mouth latched on her breast. 

“Your sire can be a real dummy sometimes,” she told the pup, her free hand caressing the thin, soft hair.

Dina had avoided Ellie for the first weeks of her return. She wasn’t ready to see her on a daily basis, to watch the alpha who once had promised to cherish and protect her; promises Ellie had broken so trivially in a blind quest for revenge.

When Ellie went to Seattle, Dina followed. Back then, she understood. 

But after Dina herself had been spared by the same woman Ellie swore to kill, Dina had accepted that it was over.

Both women, Ellie and Abby, had left piles of bodies on all sides. 

Ellie threw away everything that Dina offered her: stability, love. A family. Dina gave herself in a sacred mating bond because she believed in them.

Giving up on their relationship had been Ellie’s choice.

Now, it was Dina’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choo-choo, welcome aboard the angst train!
> 
> I do not have a lot of patience, so this will be something like a mild burn? until-I-cannot-say-no-burn? 
> 
> Something like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year, folks

The morning was cold and bitter, fogging their breaths and freezing their lungs. The sun rose in front of them as they left from the east gate, but it barely did anything against the cold. 

“Never seen someone so happy to freeze their ass in the morning.” Katherine yawned from her place on top of Beaker, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“It’s my first patrol in a very long time,” Ellie replied, patting Japan’s side.

“Okay, let me rephrase.” Katherine adjusted the rifle on her back as Japan followed Beaker in a light trot. “Never seen someone so happy to be out and risking their lives fighting infected and hunters, plus carrying other people’s junk.” Katherine patted the metal bars roped to Beaker’s side. 

“What is it about the scrap metal?” Ellie ignored Katherine’s jab. 

“Laura’s project. She says it’s to combat hordes. Apparently they have a serious problem with them in Idaho. All we need to do is drop it by this generator at the town’s square. She’ll go there later today or tomorrow.”

The horses continued their quiet trot, birds and small game crossing their way as they left the open area around Jackson. They rode in silence for a while, attentive to their surroundings. 

Katherine cleared her throat, fixing her seat on the horse. “So, what happened?”

Ellie fought a smile, but knew she lost the battle when Katherine smirked. 

“What happened?” Katherine pressed, sleep replaced by bright curiosity in her eyes. “Oh my God, you and Dina did it.”

Ellie promptly choked on her own saliva. “What? No!”

“Oh… you and Andrea?” The beta had one hand on her chin, the other holding Beaker’s reins, head to the side. 

Ellie, eyes wide, stuttered. “Andrea? What? That’s even worse.”

“She has the hots for you,” Katherine commented, shrugging. “And you’re mated, but not mated  _ mated _ , you know…”

“I’m not sleeping with anyone.” Ellie’s face heated up, her grip tightening on Japan’s reins. 

“What else could get you so happy, then?” Beaker jumped over a rotten log as they approached the area where the forest became dense. 

“Dina invited me for dinner,” Ellie admitted, guiding Japan to jump over the same log. 

“Dinner or  _ dinner _ ?” Katherine turned around on her horse and wiggled her eyebrows, and Ellie felt her face flushing all over again. 

“She wants me to meet Deborah,” Ellie confessed, the words pulling another smile on her face. 

“How cute!” Katherine sighed, turning back to increase the pace of her horse, Ellie fast on her heels. “I don’t give it a month before Dina’s jumping you!” The beta shouted from her place, wind picking up around them.

It wasn’t that Ellie disliked the beta, but sometimes she wanted to slap her face.

And other times, she hoped she was right.

* * *

Ellie showered using a new batch of pine soap. Her hair was down, clean and almost dry by the time she left home. She wrapped a battered, olive scarf around her neck and adjusted Joel’s bomber jacket around herself. She picked the pair of jeans that had the least amount of holes in it, along with a dark green and black plaid shirt. 

If Dina noticed she was trying, she wouldn't be wrong. 

Ellie took a deep breath, hands trembling, but it had nothing to do with the cold evening. Dina’s house was not big, two rooms maybe, and no garage. It was a fading yellow that reminded Ellie of pups.

She knocked twice and heard rustling from the inside, followed by Dina’s voice.

“Coming!” 

There was no turning back now.

Not meeting Ellie’s eyes, Dina opened the door and gestured for Ellie to get inside. Ellie toed her boots off by the door, which locked softly behind them.

Dina had on a stained, white apron and a small smile. Pans bubbled in the stove, easy to see in the open kitchen style of the house. The air was filled with a mix of the sweet smell of corn and the spicy touch of beans. 

“Hi.” Dina opened her arms, and it took Ellie a split second to take off her jacket and scarf. 

“Hi. Thanks,” the alpha greeted, cheeks blushing. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Yep.” Dina gathered her jacket and scarf and walked into the living room to leave them on the couch. Ellie followed for three steps before freezing. 

A faint gurgle erupted from the handwoven moses bassinet on the coffee table in front of the couch. The noise stopped Ellie dead in her tracks. She watched the bassinet, fascinated, and saw the tiny, tiny fist that peeked from it as the babble intensified. 

“It’s okay, love,” Dina said on her way to the basket in a tone Ellie had never heard from her before; a motherly voice. Dina picked up the baby, their pup, shushing the squirming infant. “Mommy’s here,” Dina whispered to the soft baby hair on Debbie’s head. When Dina turned, and Ellie could finally see the baby’s face, air was knocked out of her lungs. 

Katherine was right. She did have Ellie’s eyes.

“Is she…” Ellie hesitated, looking at the sleepy hazel eyes and back at Dina, who hugged the baby close. “Is she alright? She’s not…” Ellie had a hard time elaborating, but she fidgeted with her tattoo, hoping the meaning wasn’t lost on Dina.

“She’s perfect,” the omega answered the unworded question. “Never showed any signs of infection.”

The idea terrified Ellie. She wondered if it had terrified Dina too. 

The thought of Dina, exhausted from childbirth, watching over their newborn daughter with bated breath made Ellie swallow in a wave of guilt. 

“I hope we’ll never have to test the hypothesis if she’s immune,” Dina said as she walked in Ellie’s direction. When closer, Debbie’s eyes blinked awake, searching everywhere in curiosity. Ellie was fascinated with her eyes; much like her sire’s, they were lighter on the outside and shifted in darkening shades of hazel until they were brown close to the core. 

She was beautiful.

“Do you want to hold her?”

Ellie gulped at Dina’s question, and her first reaction was to deny it. But with a deep breath to calm her nerves, she nodded. 

“Make sure to support her head,” Dina instructed, getting close enough to Ellie that the alpha felt both her mate and pup’s scents: wet earth, flowers bursting through the snow after the dead of winter. Life. When Ellie cradled her daughter’s head against her chest, it felt like home. She nudged her nose against Debbie’s downy hair, scenting her for the first time. It had the wilderness Dina always had around her, but also… something else. Something familiar. Ellie shuddered when she recognized her own scent in her pup. 

Debbie chose that moment to squirm in Ellie’s arms, little legs moving uncoordinatedly. 

“She usually doesn't like new people,” Dina explained, arm extended to take the baby, but Ellie adjusted the tiny bundle in her arms so the pup could nest her face under her chin. Debbie stopped her fretting, calming down, cooing against Ellie’s freckled skin.

“That’s new.” Dina’s eyes widened, and she crossed her arms. “She calmed down.”

Ellie’s smile could split her face in two. 

“Is she…” Words failed Ellie again, but now it was because she was too focused on the little girl in her arms. “Is she an omega?”

Dina shook her head, her lips tugging in a half smile. “She’s just like her sire.”

“She’s an alpha,” Ellie whispered in awe, a new sense of pride at hearing the title for the first time. Ellie was a  _ sire _ . She had a kid; a real, breathing, little human being that would need her help and protection for years to come. 

Ellie looked at Dina to see the omega taking a deep breath, a beautiful hue of pink lighting up the freckles on her nose. “Yeah. My little alpha.” Dina’s hand brushed Debbie’s silky hair. “Ellie?”

Ellie shuddered, hugging the pup, hands shaking. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re fine. She’s fine.” Dina rested one hand on Ellie’s shoulder, taking a couple steps to hug the woman from behind, arms warm and secure. In her embrace, Ellie let her tears fall.

“I didn’t know.” Ellie’s breath caressed the tender hairs of their pup. “Dina, I—”

“I know you didn’t.” Dina lowered her head on Ellie’s shoulder blade. “I was already in Jackson when I found out.”

They stood together, in Dina’s living room, hidden in their bubble. 

“Would you have stayed”—Dina’s voice warmed Ellie’s neck, and the alpha held her breath—“Would you have stayed if you knew?” 

Ellie swallowed, breath catching in her throat.

Would she?

Joel battered, dehumanized face under Abby’s golf club. 

His gurgled voice, drowning in his own blood.

Abby, up in that post, emaciated, dying. 

“I don’t know,” Ellie confessed, because she honestly had no idea. 

The warmth of Dina’s skin left her back. “You can leave her in the basket. Dinner’s ready.”

Ellie kissed the top of Debbie’s head, the pup fully asleep now. She had drooled on Ellie’s shirt, and Ellie realized she didn’t mind it one bit.

Dina brought two bowls of chunky chili, with Deborah still wrapped in Ellie’s arms, chubby cheek resting on her chest. Dina placed the bowls on the coffee table, watching Ellie silently as the alpha caressed Debbie’s back with a single finger, up and down. Dina pushed the bowl closer, and Ellie looked up, blushing under Dina’s stare. 

“Sorry.” Still flushed, Ellie carefully supported Debbie’s head and lowered the pup into her basket. She traced her right hand around the bassinet, a frow crossing her face.

“I’ll need to get a new one soon.” Dina inclined over the basket to check on Debbie, who was indeed growing out of it.

“I can keep an eye out on patrols. Or make one.” Ellie eyed the basket, mind already turning with ideas on how to make one.

“Mrs. Miller gave this to me. I’ll pass it along to the next Jackson pup, I guess.”

“Joel had a lot of tools, I’m sure I can make something,” Ellie murmured to herself, hand touching the woven basket from the outside once more. She looked up at Dina, a half-smile on her lips. “I’ll come up with something.”

Dina blew on her chilly, taking a spoonful and swallowing before replying, “Okay.” The omega frowned at her dinner, and Ellie wasn’t sure if her initiative was welcomed. She reached over the coffee table, her right hand touching Dina’s fingers. 

“Would that be okay with you?” 

Startled, Dina nodded. “Yes, of course Ellie, it’s just… I’m used to doing this on my own.” She glanced at Debbie, peacefully asleep. 

“Now you don’t have to.” Ellie nodded, patting Dina’s hand once and getting her own bowl of chili. “Wow, this is good!” She shoved two spoonfuls in her mouth. “So much better than cafeteria food,” she said while chewing. Dina rolled her eyes, but another blush sneaked up her cheek.

“Close your mouth when chewing,” Dina chided her, fighting back a smile. 

“But it’s so good!” Ellie insisted, doing the same thing again. 

Dinner was indeed good. Ellie remembered nights where they would skin game and prepare dinner together, bantering and listening to music. 

The familiarity of it was broken when Debbie protested the lack of attention from her bassinet, cries escalating to wails in seconds. 

“Someone’s hungry.” Dinna left her bowl on the table and picked up the pup, returning to the couch while wiping Debbie’s tears from her cheeks. 

“I’ll get these.” Ellie cleared the table and stood to take the bowls to the kitchen, her cheeks warming up when she saw Dina shrugging off her apron and opening the first buttons of her shirt—all while holding a squirming pup, Debbie’s little legs kicking the air from her light blue onesie. 

Ellie took her time in the kitchen, washing the pots and bowls and tidying up what she could. When she made her way back to the living room, Dina still had Debbie attached to her. 

“Wow, she’s… really going at it.” Ellie wished she could look away, but once she saw Debbie, little brows furrowed in concentration, mouth furiously latched and sucking at Dina’s breast, there was nothing the alpha could do but stare. 

“She’s always hungry,” Dina grumbled, adjusting the baby against herself. The action moved the mighty little alpha, who released her nipple for a second before latching at it again like there was no tomorrow.

Ellie wished she could only focus on the idyllic moment of watching her child feed, but the sight of Dina, bare, sent a shiver down her spine. It was not her proudest moment. 

“Does it hurt?”

Dina adjusted Debbie once more, rolling her shoulder. “She’s a little too excited to feed, sometimes.” She grimaced when Debbie insisted on demonstrating that fact. 

Ellie felt her face burn and licked her lips. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You can help her burp after she’s done.” Dina didn’t lift her eyes from their daughter. “You might want to get used to it,” she added, then glanced at Ellie for a brief second. 

Ellie took it as the question it was. “Of course. I want to help.”

Dinna hummed and helped Debbie change sides, the apparently still hungry pup complaining the minute that it took for her dinner to be served again. From the other side of the couch, Ellie watched. After the pup had been finally satiated, Dina gave her to Ellie and placed a clean towel on Ellie’s shoulder.

“Pat her back,” the omega instructed after closing her shirt. “Don’t worry. She’s tough,” she complemented when Ellie’s pats were too light on the burping baby. 

Ellie did as instructed, patting the gurgling Debbie until the baby burped next to her ear. “There you go, kiddo.” She kept patting her back and started humming to Debbie until curious hazel eyes were heavy, lids fighting to stay open but losing their battle. 

Ellie never thought she could love someone so fiercely and so fast, but there was a little bundle in her arms showing her that it was possible.

* * *

“Jesus fucking Christ, Ellie!” Katherine exclaimed as they both pushed the metal doors of the old convenience store shut. “That was way too close!”

“Sorry.”

Katherine placed a metal chair between the door handles, shrieks from infected echoing from the other side. Ellie placed her prize on the ground and looked around the empty room. 

“There was absolutely no need to get into this store with just the two of us!” Katherine, pissed, wiped sweat out of her temple and messed up with her French braid in the process. “And you just fucking jumped inside of it!”

“I’m sorry! I saw something, and I didn’t think.” With a deep breath, Ellie pushed on the metal chair to confirm it was secure. 

“And here I was thinking having you as patrol partner would be a good idea.” Katherine nodded at the open window, their escape route. “What did you even get, anyway?” 

Blushing, Ellie picked up the old but sturdy bassinet from the ground. At that, Katherine softened a little bit, a tired smile crossing her features. 

“You so owe me drinks tonight.” The beta joined her hands to help Ellie reach the high window. 

Ellie used the offered boost to climb her way to the window, first throwing the bassinet outside and then following. Katherine joined her outside in the cold a little less graciously. 

“We’ll have to come back with a clean up crew,” Ellie commented as they made their way to their horses. 

“So you can get that stroller?”

“You saw that too?”

“Gosh, let’s make it a big crew.”

* * *

It was a different feeling that mixed the comfortable familiarity with her mate and the new, foreign concept of sharing Debbie with someone else.

Not just someone else; Ellie. 

Dina’s mate. Debbie’s sire.

The woman Dina had unprocessed feelings for.

Ellie helped with anything she could in Dina’s house. The alpha would jump at any opportunity to be around them, and it would be overwhelming if it wasn’t welcomed.

Dina didn’t complain about having someone else to help wash Debbie’s diapers and clean her house; she would though, more frequently than not, hint at her need for space, and Ellie would look down, blushing, fidget with her hands and softly bid her good night. 

It was bitter-sweet; unwanted, but needed. 

But in her coldness, Dina was unapologetic.

Ellie had left. She left Dina, alone, and that had been her choice. Dina understood that and spent a good part of a month trying to digest the burning feeling of anger, until it was replaced by fear once she realized she was pregnant. Fear had fueled her rage, and some nights she wished she would never see Ellie again.

And others, she cried herself to sleep with her nose buried in Ellie’s shirt. 

Dina avoided Ellie the first weeks of the alpha’s return. Every time she would hear her name or get a glimpse of freckles, Dina’s chest would overflow with an entire spectrum of emotions that overwhelmed her enough to not search for her mate. 

Reintroducing Ellie into her life was a process, and Dina did not want to rush it. 

“So, what do you think?” 

Ellie’s face was flushed with either exhaustion or excitement, and the alpha’s jacket was way too light for the early evening weather, with a simple scarf not even wrapped around her neck. Dina hadn’t even considered the possibility of being someone else when she opened the door, but finding Ellie’s smile had made her heart skip a bit anyway. 

Ellie held a new, polished wooden bassinet, bigger than the one Debbie had now. Bright green eyes were on Dina, expectant, smile frozen in place waiting for her reaction. 

Dina could see the top two buttons of Ellie’s shirt were undone and she gulped, shaking her head. 

“It’s great, Ellie. Come in, I was about to feed her.”

Ellie nodded, picking up the wooden basket with a small grunt. 

“Is it heavy?” Dina closed her front door and didn’t look back as she walked to Debbie’s bedroom. 

“Not really. I’m just sore from patrol and sanding the wood.” 

Dina stopped, her head peeking from the hallway that led to the bedrooms to stare at Ellie, who remained in her living room. “Was everything okay on patrol?”

Ellie, who was leafing through the anatomy book on Dina’s table, blushed, her left hand scratching the back of her head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Katherine and I had a run in with a few infected, but we’re good.” She smiled, one of her dimples showing. Dina nodded once. 

She came back to the living room with Debbie half-asleep in her arms. Ellie had placed the new bassinet on the coffee table, next to the old one, and was transferring the blankets. Ellie frowned when she found one of Dina’s shirts in the middle of the soft blankets. 

“Pups enjoy the scent of their parents,” Dina explained, sitting down on the couch. Debbie yawned at the commotion, blinking slowly. 

Ellie’s eyes brightened, and her left hand closed around her scarf. “Do you think…” 

Dina watched Ellie’s three fingers twitch on the scarf, the unvoiced question dying in the alpha’s mouth. 

“You can add your scarf to it,” Dina said, her heart melting a bit at the relieved expression on Ellie’s face. Ellie smiled, unsure, and pulled her scarf from around her neck. It exposed more of her freckles and Dina found herself staring, but she soon moved her eyes to the alpha’s hand. Ellie folded the olive scarf before placing it inside the new bassinet. 

Debbie moved in Dina’s arms, head attempting to turn. At first Dina thought she was looking for food, but the pup squirmed when Dina started to open her shirt.

The idea came at seeing Ellie watching them from her place next to the basket. 

“I think she wants you,” Dina started, chuckling at Ellie’s wide eyes. “Your voice, or your scent. Here.” 

Ellie was gaining practice with holding Debbie, and she picked up the infant from Dina’s arm almost without any fumbling. 

“Hey, buddy,” Ellie whispered to Debbie, holding her close. “I missed you too.”

Dina sat on her couch, silently watching Ellie walking in her living room, humming at Debbie until the little alpha fell asleep. 

Dina was not denying her feelings. She still burned hot at the thought of Ellie leaving. But that evening, as Ellie hummed a familiar tune to their baby, Dina thought that maybe, just maybe, Ellie could be in their lives as more than Debbie’s sire.

Ellie’s left hand supported the pup’s head and Dina focused on the two finger stumps. 

Anger filled her again, freezing the little piece of her heart that had warmed with Ellie’s smile.

* * *

Dina rushed to the clinic, smiling apologetically at Laura, who was helping the first patient to the exam rooms. 

“I’m sorry, Debbie was in a bit of a fuss this morning,” she apologized, passing the doctor and patient to the back room where she could leave her backpack and change. 

“It’s okay. Dr. Cecilia won’t be coming today, so I was already here to cover for her.”

Dina nodded and focused on the work.

After Dina returned to Jackson, she had initially worked on patrol. But every time she would do the Creek trail or even just pass by the library, she would lose her focus, consumed by either longing or anger.

Maria understood when Dina asked to work inside the walls, especially because she had a talent for healing and taking care of others. And after she found out about Debbie, it made sense for the omega to remain inside and safe.

Laura was learning her way into becoming a doctor—at least a  _ human  _ doctor—and Dina jumped at the opportunity to listen to what Dr. Cecilia had to tell the new alpha. Dina couldn’t keep up with Laura’s knowledge, but she was a good helper. Dr. Cecilia told her she would make a fine nurse, and Dina cherished that comment for months, dedicating more time to the clinic. 

When Debbie was born during a thunderstorm on a Monday night, Dr. Cecilia had been occupied with an emergency, and the fresh new doctor, Laura, was the one to take care of Dina.

“I suppose you won’t like it if I gave you biscuits,” Laura had said, voice shaking in a way that both amazed and terrified Dina.

“Compare me to a mare one more time, and I’ll shoot you in the face,” Dina had hissed back, teeth gritted in pain. 

She would never admit the way Laura caressed between her eyes did calm her down, but she was thankful nonetheless. In the end, it was the beginning of a friendship that encouraged Dina even more to pursue her possible career as a nurse.

Which led her to the early shifts at the clinic. 

“How’s the little goober?” Laura opened the door to the back room carrying a plastic bowl full of used, dirty rags. 

“Oh no, you too?” Dina accepted the bowl, placing it next to the washing tank. “Katherine is rubbing off on you,” she added, turning on the small stove next to the basin.

She looked up and saw the furious blush covering Laura’s face as the alpha played with the doorknob. Laura caught her staring and cleared her throat, stuffing her hands in her lab coat pockets. 

Dina laughed, hands on her hips. “Seriously?”

“It’s not, I mean, not really…” The blush took over the alpha’s entire face, touching her hairline all the way down to her neck. One of Laura's hands started to fidget with her braids, her light brown eyes everywhere but Dina.

“Laura.” Dina placed a soothing hand on Laura’s arm, finally meeting her eyes. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone if it’s a secret or something.”

If that was even possible, Laura’s blush intensified. “No! No, it’s not like that!” Both her hands went to the small golden cross around her neck, and she licked her lips. “We’re not dating. We haven’t really…” Eyes to the floor, the usually broad shouldered alpha deflated. “I’m not really good at this. Never been,” she whispered the last part, one hand in her pocket and the other caressing the shiny pedant. 

Dina took a step back. Laura’s hand that was on her necklace went absentmindedly below her left collarbone, scratching at the cotton of her lab coat. 

Dina knew what that meant; she found herself enough times touching the side of her neck in the same way. 

Laura followed Dina to the chairs next to the table, the quiet sound of the gas stove filling the air. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dina offered, both hands on the table. 

Laura smiled, tiredly, releasing a long breath. One of her hands was still on her chest, the other rested on the table in front of Dina. 

“There’s not much to talk about.”

Dina didn’t know a lot about Laura’s story before she came to Jackson. She had made it to Jackson alone, battered, probably having been alone out there for a while. 

“Well, I honestly think Katherine is into you.” 

Laura’s head snapped up so fast that her pendant bounced on her neck. “You think so?”

“Oh, for sure.” Dina chuckled, rolling her eyes a little bit. “Believe me, I know how someone looks when they’re pinning after an alpha.”

Laura flexed her jaw, smiling at Dina. “Should I ask her for the winter dance? Or like, a date?” 

“If you do, she’ll definitely say yes.”

Laura’s smile broadened, confident. She was like that for a moment, before her lips turned down, a crinkle forming between her auburn eyebrows. Her hand went back to the spot under her collarbone, and in reflex, Dina touched the side of her neck, feeling Ellie’s mating mark. 

“Laura…”

When Laura met her eyes, Dina saw a different set of browns. It was as if Talia was in front of her, concerned, and Dina had to shake her head to push the memory aside, asking, “Have you ever had a mate?” 

Light brown eyes widened for a bit, but Laura chuckled. “That obvious?”

Dina shrugged, hand still on her neck. “It takes one to know one.” 

Water bubbled in the pan next to them and Dina walked over to put the dirty rags in the boiling water. She sat on her chair, marking the time on her wrist watch. 

“I was mated for a year,” Laura said, voice small and eyes clouded.

Dina nodded, not pressing. By Laura’s look, she had a good idea what had happened. “Have you ever fought with them?”

Laura stared at her for a short moment before laughing. “Yeah. John was a very… strong-willed omega.” Laura’s eyes lit up at the simple memory of her mate. Dina wished she would have that again with someone. 

“We disagreed sometimes, but ended up working things out.” Laura’s cheeks hinted at pink.

“Were you the one screwing things up?” 

“Constantly,” Laura admitted, hand on her golden cross. “Alphas are usually the ones doing things without much thought.”

Silence fell on them again, comfortable. Dina’s neck prickled, burning at the thought of Ellie. 

_ “I love you.” _

_ “Prove it. Stay.” _

_ “I can’t.” _

Dina had never felt more abandoned than the day she realized Talia would not come back. That night in the farm, Ellie reopened that old, deep wound.

She swallowed. “Has he ever hurt you? In a way that you thought there’d be no way back?”

“Oh yeah.” There was Laura’s tired smile again. “When he got himself killed.”

The alpha stood up and adjusted her lab coat. “Look. It’s not my place to say anything. I don’t know much about you and your life, but…” She took a deep breath, scratching at her cheek. “I’d give anything for a second chance with him.”

With a last smile, Laura left the room. 

Dina’s watch beeped and she turned to turn off the gas stove.

It was much later that day, when Dina was at home gathering Debbie’s blankets to wash, that the thought of Ellie invaded her mind. Debbie grunted from her chest, head over Dina’s heart as she rested wrapped against her mother. 

Between the baby blankets in the bassinet, Dina found an olive scarf with loose fringes. Biting her lip, Dina brought the fabric close to her nose, sniffing it slowly. Ellie’s scent, strong and undeniably  _ alpha _ , filled her lungs and Dina took another deep breath, eyes closed.

Debbie gurgled happily.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” Dina said, placing the scarf back into the bassinet. 

* * *

It wasn’t a busy day at the clinic. There had been a storm the previous night, and another was brewing on the horizon, so people avoided going to the clinic if it wasn’t an emergency. 

One of the power dam workers had slipped while working on a generator, and that earned him a dislocated shoulder and a trip to the clinic. He told Dina that lights would be inconsistent for a few days, and Maria wanted a generator ready at the clinic for emergencies. Dina helped them push the gas generator to the back room, and indeed the lights flashed once or twice in the afternoon. 

She didn’t think much of it as she packed her bag for the day, ready to visit Tommy and Maria’s and relieve the alpha from his babysitter duties. The couple—mostly Tommy—always offered to help with Deborah. If it came from a sense of duty—the kid was basically Joel’s grandchild—or guilt due to his role in Ellie’s choice, Dina didn’t care. She appreciated the help even if she didn’t much appreciate the man. 

Someone knocked on the clinic’s back room door. Laura opened the door without waiting for Dina’s reply, already out of her lab coat. 

“Hey, ready to go? I told Katherine we would be there around seven.”

“Oh.” Dina blushed, shouldering her backpack. “I told Tommy I’d pick up Debbie as soon as I left the clinic.” She offered the alpha a sheepish smile, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Oh, please. The man can handle a baby for another hour! You already went there to feed her.” Laura held the door open so they stepped into the medical bay, nodding at the two women that would be replacing them for the night shift. 

“She’s probably asleep by now,” Dina mused, waving goodbye to the night receptionist. 

“Yes! C’mon, they already have a table for us!”

Following Laura to the mess hall, Dina didn’t stop to think who would join them for dinner. Katherine, obviously. Part of her brain knew Ellie was constantly working with the beta, but it was still a surprise when she entered the hall and saw Katherine, Ellie and Andrea at a table. 

Katherine smiled and waved at them, but Ellie avoided Dina’s eyes. 

“Good evening, ladies,” Katherine said as Dina and Laura approached their table. “Tonight there’s pumpkin casserole, and for that I’m a happy woman.” Katherine stood, and Andrea followed. Laura nodded at Katherine and made a gesture to let the beta walk in front of her in the direction of the forming line. 

Ellie remained in her seat, hands under the table, eyes cast down. Dina sat in front of her, pushing her bag under the table. 

Something very similar to an alarm went off in Dina’s head, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. Ellie looked distant, one hand scratching her tattoo, green eyes fogged. 

“We’ll be right there,” Dina responded Katherine when the beta asked if Dina and Ellie would join them in the line. “Hey. Ellie?”

Ellie seemed to be staring at a random spot on the table. When she looked up, she blinked twice before looking at Dina. “Dina. You okay?”

Dina nodded, the small voice in her head getting louder. “I’m okay. Are you okay?” She squinted her eyes, looking Ellie up and down. The alpha blushed, tucking an auburn lock of hair behind her ear. Her hair was getting longer, showing how uneven the last cut had been. She probably had cut it herself, since Dina was the one that used to trim Ellie’s hair.

“I’m fine.” Ellie didn’t hold Dina’s gaze, looking at the entrance and back to their table.

“Are you not hungry? We should get in line.” 

“I’m not really hungry,” Ellie replied, her jaw locked. 

Something was wrong.

“I don’t know, that pumpkin casserole is not half bad, and—”

The lights wavered, flickering on and off like they had earlier in the day. This time, however, they shut down completely, covering the entire dinner hall in darkness. 

There was some commotion, a few seconds passing before flashlights were lit. A pup cried, and someone whistled loudly. 

Ceiling lights blinked again, like an old car coughing its way to ignition. Under the flashing lights, Dina realized what her mind had been trying to tell her. The lights shimmered one last time and finally stabilized. 

Ellie’s pupils were shrunk, the green in her eyes alive, bright. Eerily clear. Both her hands grasped the table, knuckles white. Dina heard her breathing, heavy at first, but quickening, and she acted before she could overthink. 

“C’mon,” she whispered to Ellie, at her side in a second, hand firm on the alpha’s shoulder. Under her touch, Ellie trembled. 

Ellie’s eyes met hers, unfocused, lost, and Dina repeated the order staring straight into those bright eyes. Ellie nodded dumbly, following Dina’s pull. On their way out of the hall, Dina waved at Katherine, whose head cocked in confusion seeing the couple leaving.

Outside, light rain started to fall, and Dina guided them to the side of the large building, away from prying eyes. 

“Ellie? Ellie, look at me. You’re alright.” Dina held Ellie’s shoulders, pressing firmly. “Just breathe, okay? I’m here.” She watched the moment Ellie’s breathing reached a peak and slowed down, her eyes closing tightly. Ellie had one hand on her chest, the other on her stomach, fingers contracting, shaking. 

“There you go.” Dina never broke their contact, hand on Ellie’s arm since the moment she realized her mate was having a panic attack. 

An episode, like she sometimes had at the farm. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ellie mumbled, the hand on her stomach moving to her mouth. 

“That’s okay. Just breathe.” Dina helped Ellie rest her back against the building, watching as her entire body weight pressed on the wet wood. Her knees looked wobbly, but Dina had a firm hand on Ellie’s shoulder. 

Dina wasn’t sure how long they stood there, Ellie slowly catching her breath. 

“Still think you’re gonna be sick?” Dina asked when rain picked up, her bun coming undone under it. 

“I’m alright.” Ellie took a deep breath, coughing a bit through it. “I’m alright,” she repeated, shaking her head. 

“Let me walk you home,” Dina offered, one hand over Ellie’s head to check for her temperature. 

Ellie closed her eyes at the touch, and Dina pulled her hand away faster than intended. 

“I’ll be fine.” Ellie’s voice was small, weak. She didn’t look at Dina, eyes on a forming puddle under their boots. 

“I can walk you home,” Dina insisted, brows knitted. A sense of concern tugged at her heart, suddenly heavy. 

“Have you eaten?” Ellie raised her head, and Dina almost laughed. 

Ellie just had a panic attack and she’s worried if Dina had dinner. 

“I’ll stop by Tommy’s to pick up Debbie, and I can grab something to eat there.”

Ellie’s entire face lit up at the mention of their pup, color brightening her cheeks. “Can I… can I walk with you?”

Dina looked Ellie up and down, and the alpha cleared her throat, pushing away from the wall. Whatever they needed to decide, they needed to do it now, because they would be soaked if they stayed outside. 

“Let me get my bag, and we can walk to Tommy’s. Then we will both walk you home.”

Ellie didn’t look convinced, but she nodded. 

The walk to Tommy’s was silent, with Dina keeping and eye on Ellie. But Ellie didn’t waver. Her breath remained constant, her boots secure as she crossed mud puddles. 

If Tommy was surprised to find Dina and Ellie at his front door, he didn’t show. Debbie was asleep on Tommy’s chair, with pillows around her. Tommy commented he was working on getting a crib around, and Maria brought them tea and sandwiches when she saw the state of both women. 

They didn’t stay long, and soon Deborah was as comfortable as a pup could be, wrapped against Dina’s chest in a sling. Ellie walked a step behind, constantly checking with Dina to know if the pup was either asleep or dry. 

In a way, it was endearing. 

Ellie fumbled with her keys when they made it to her studio. Joel’s house was dark, since no family was living there, and the light from the gardens at the back were off for the night. Ellie turned on her lights as soon as they stepped in, and Dina took a moment to realize that this was the first time, after so much had happened, that she found herself in Ellie’s place. 

“Let me get the fire going,” Ellie commented, rushing to the heater to feed it with new fire wood. “I can get you a dry shirt, if you want.” 

Dina saw Ellie’s hands trembling as she loaded the wood. She opened her mouth to say something when a loud thunder echoed, its bright light flashing on the window. 

Debbie woke up with the noise, wailing her scare, and Dina focused on calming her child. Dina looked up to see Ellie staring at the heater, breath picking up again. 

“Ellie? Ellie, come here.” With one hand behind Debbie’s head, Dina held Ellie’s forearm with the other, bringing the alpha’s attention back to them. “Help me with her?” 

Ellie blinked, focusing on Dina and then Debbie. 

“Just hold her,” Dina suggested, stepping into Ellie’s space. Debbie was in the sling, crying, so Dina reached closer to the alpha. She wasn’t sure if any of that would work, but Ellie’s arms made their way around Dina, and Debbie’s protest died in little babbles as the baby was embraced by her parents. 

Ellie kissed the top of Debbie’s head. Dina saw that Debbie wasn’t the only one crying, but didn’t say anything. They stood there, hugging, Debbie slowly quieting between them. Ellie’s breath followed, the shake in her hands calming around Dina’s back. 

“Good?” Dina asked.

Fat drops of rain splashed against the window, marching on the roof stronger than before. 

Ellie kissed the top of their pup’s head again, nodding. 

“I like when she’s around,” Ellie confessed, not making any movement to break their embrace. 

“I have the impression it's mutual.” Dina nuzzled Debbie’s hair, taking a deep breath of her scent. 

But that wasn’t the only thing she caught; she felt Ellie’s scent—heavy from a day’s work—penetrate her nostrils, burning on its way in and out. Dina shuddered, biting her lips. That scent was the best kind of intoxication.

“I’m sorry about tonight.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Ellie.” Dina took a step back, but Ellie’s arm kept her in place. The movement shook Debbie, who blinked awake and started another set of loud protests. 

“I’m so—”

“Why don't we move her to the bed?” Dina cut the alpha’s apology. 

Ellie helped Dina to bed, taking the sling off so their pup could be comfortable in the center of the mattress. Ellie lay next to her, supporting her side on her elbow as one arm rested, still slightly shaking, on Debbie’s tummy. The pup squirmed under the touch, but when Dina’s hand joined Ellie’s, she calmed down and light amber eyes closed slowly. 

They didn’t say anything. Dina watched Debbie sleep, feeling the rise and fall of her little breaths. 

Rain continued to fall mercilessly over Jackson. 

“Dina…”

“Shh, she’s finally asleep.”

“It’s not like before,” Ellie insisted. “It’s just that sometimes—”

“Ellie.” Dina looked up to find bloodshot eyes. “It’s okay.” She squeezed Ellie’s hand. “I promise.”

Ellie nodded, her chest moving in a long exhale. “Okay.”

Dina wasn’t sure how long had passed when she blinked awake. Ellie must have turned off the lights at some point, the room covered in darkness, only the heater’s flames as a flickering source of light somewhere behind Dina. 

She didn’t move, holding her breath, her lip between her teeth not to make a sound. 

Ellie was in the same position from before, on her side, elbow in the mattress and the other hand on Debbie. 

But she wasn’t still.

Her right hand traced all over Debbie’s face and tummy, making silly patters on the pup’s skin as Debbie smiled up at Ellie. The baby squirmed happily, trying to follow Ellie’s fingers, sometimes succeeding in grabbing one and sucking the digit. Every time it happened, both Ellie and Debbie would smile, the sire chucking and continuing the play.

“You look like a potato,” Ellie whispered to their pup, finger lightly tickling Debbie’s tummy. “My little potato.” Debbie replied with a continued intonation of vowels. “Yes, glad to see you agree,” Ellie whispered back to their daughter, absorbed in their mindless conversation. 

Dina didn’t move, watching them quietly. Ellie didn’t seem to notice her, too engrossed with the task of keeping their pup entertained. 

For the first time since she saw Ellie in the medical bay, Dina felt raw  _ happiness  _ at her mate being back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like there was a force in this universe to stop me from using Ellie’s Canon Baby Nickname™.   
> ~le potato~


End file.
